Rivers’ rise expected to ease as winter hits the homestretch

Heavy mountain rainfall and unseasonably high temperatures Sunday and Monday triggered rapid rises on several Inland Northwest rivers, but the runoff was expected to subside today before flooding occurs.

Forecasters are calling for springlike conditions this last full week of winter, with sunny days and cooler nights. The drier weather should prevent rivers from overrunning their banks.

“The snowmelt will slow down later this week,” said Mike Fries, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

After highs of 61 degrees in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene on Monday, daytime temperatures are expected to return to the low 50s today and Wednesday before warming up as the weekend approaches.

In North Idaho, a rain gauge at the 5,400-foot level of Bear Mountain recorded 2.7 inches of rainfall over a two-day period ending Monday. Schweitzer Peak recorded 1.8 inches of rain while Lost Lake at the 6,100-foot level in the central Idaho Panhandle had 2 inches of rain.

Even more rainfall was reported in the Cascades. The weather service issued a flood warning for the Naches River near Yakima and small streams in Kittitas County.

The Coeur d’Alene River at Cataldo rose to 39.7 feet Monday morning, about 3 feet below flood stage. It is expected to crest at 41.6 feet this morning. Similar water levels were reported at Enaville.

The St. Joe River at St. Maries was expected to crest tonight at 30.3 feet, which is 2.2 feet below flood stage.

Rising water levels were also reported on the Palouse, Methow, Wenatchee, Stehekin and Entiat rivers in Washington and the Moyie River in Idaho, but flooding was not predicted.

Across the region, temperatures Sunday and Monday were unusually high with Ephrata, Wenatchee and Omak setting daily records with temperatures in the low 70s. Spokane, Bonners Ferry and Omak had record high overnight temperatures.

In Spokane, a low of 47 degrees eclipsed the record of 44 degrees set in 1900. Bonners Ferry’s low of 40 degrees broke a record of 39 degrees in 2002.

If the high temperatures were good news for people tired of winter, then better news will come at 5:07 p.m. next Tuesday. That’s when spring begins.